Ecocritical Consciousness in Futuristic Nepali Climate Fiction in 100 Years

Abstract

In 100 Years: An Anthology of Climate Fiction from Nepal’ is a collection of Nepali climate fiction, edited and published by Evan Tims in 2022. The anthology features eight short stories and a poem by eight emerging Nepali writers, envisioning extreme climate change scenarios and their impacts on Nepal a century from now. This study explores these climate narratives through an eco-critical perspective, assessing the plausibility of the climatic situations imagined to occur in Nepal over the next hundred years. For this, it reviews recent news reports from national and international media, government and non-government reports, and relevant journal articles on the issue of climate change and makes a textual analysis of the climate fiction narratives under study. The findings suggest that severe climate hazards projected in the narratives, such as unbearable heat, prolonged droughts, the disappearance of mountain snowcaps, and glacial floods forcing mass migration, are plausible within this timeframe. However, the occurrence of the three districts of Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha and Okhaldhunga turning into a gigantic lake, a decade-long drought, and instantly-burning acid rains may not yet be a reality. This study is expected to benefit anyone interested in eco critical readings by deepening their ecological awareness and encouraging thoughtful reflection on the possibility of even more severe effects of climate change in both the near and distant future.